The Power Shift: Decolonising Development

In our latest episode we delve into the transformative power of grassroots organisations and the crucial role of trust-based philanthropy in fostering meaningful change. We interviewed Corey Oser, Vice President of Programs at the Global Fund for Children and Effie Ansah from Little Fish Theatre, who share their insights and experiences in navigating the complexities of funding and community engagement. Corey begins by outlining the mission of the Global Fund for Children, which focuses on empowering child and youth-centered organisations through flexible and unrestricted funding. This innovative approach allows organisations to allocate resources based on their unique needs and priorities, ultimately fostering a sense of autonomy and trust. Corey emphasizes that flexibility is not merely a luxury but a necessity for smaller, grassroots organisations, particularly those led by women and youth. Effie Ansah, a facilitator at Little Fish Theatre, adds depth to the conversation by sharing her experiences working directly with young people in various settings. She highlights the importance of arts-based opportunities in engaging youth and facilitating honest conversations about societal issues. Effie's work exemplifies how creativity can serve as a catalyst for personal and professional growth, enabling young individuals to explore their identities and express themselves authentically. Throughout the episode, the discussion touches on the findings of a recent impact study conducted by the Global Fund for Children. This research underscores the significance of trust-based relationships between funders and grassroots organisations. The study reveals that when organisations feel trusted and valued, they are more likely to take bold steps and innovate in their approaches to community engagement. Corey and Effie both talk about the challenges and limitations faced by grassroots organisations, particularly in securing funding that aligns with their missions. They advocate for a shift in the philanthropic landscape towards more inclusive and participatory grant-making practices, where the voices of those directly affected by funding decisions are prioritizedCorey OserCorey Oser leads Global Fund for Children’s engagement with child and youth-centered organisations globally as Vice President of Programs. Her interest in strengthening community wellbeing and human rights at the grassroots level stems from working with community-based and international organisations on issues such as supporting women affected by conflict and war and preventing human trafficking.  She is a practitioner of transformative organisational change and creative facilitation and seeks to shift power dynamics in philanthropy and global development. She is the host of the Roots and Sparks podcast, a platform for global changemakers to tell their stories. Corey is a graduate with highest honors from Bates College and holds an MA in International Affairs from George Washington University. She serves as Co-Chair of the Wellbeing Project’s Funders and Wellbeing Learning Group.Effie AnsahEffie Ansah, Little Fish Theatre facilitator and GIS Report Researcher Effie is an actor, writer, and creative freelancer working broadly across theatre. With a background in youth and community work, she is passionate about bringing arts-based opportunities to communities that often face barriers to accessing the arts. She believes that creativity is a key to unlocking progressive growth in both personal and professional development and brings this perspective into spaces ranging from corporate environments to educational settings. Effie has worked for over four years with Little Fish Theatre as a facilitation practitioner.If you’re interested to find out more about Corey Oser & Effie Ansah work, take a look here:Corey OserWeb

In our latest episode, we interviewed Niharika Srivastava, an international development professional from India who specialises in evaluations and research. She has moved from the corporate world to impactful work in development and with a rich background in community theatre, economics and a passion for participatory learning, Niharika shares her insights on the critical role of context in development practices. She emphasizes that effective development work cannot be a one-size-fits-all approach. Instead, it requires a deep understanding of the unique challenges and opportunities present in each context. Sharing her experiences across Africa and Asia she highlights the necessity of unlearning and relearning to ensure that solutions are tailored to the specific needs of communities. Niharika advocates for use of local knowledge and experiences in creating equitable and effective programmes that truly reflect the needs of those it aims to serve. Throughout the episode she shares practical steps for professionals in the sector, urging them to engage with local communities and understand the political economy that shapes development agendas. Her insights serve as a powerful reminder that at the heart of global development lies the need for collaboration, respect, and a commitment to social justiceIf you’re interested to find out more about Niharika Srivastava’s  work, take a look here:LinkedInInstagramA suggested reading for the audience:Reading“Big Aid Is Over” – Kevin Starr (SSIR, 2025)A provocative essay on why the era of large-scale donor-driven aid is ending. Starr argues that governments in the Global South must own and finance solutions that are affordable, scalable, and context-specific – challenging one-size-fits-all aid models and pushing forward  localisation and sustainability. Read here.ListeningInterventions from the Global South (Podcast) brings together activists, community organisers, change makers, and intellectuals from/of the Global South to imagine registers for theorising communication and co-creating transformative practices that address inequalities, climate change, depleted democracies, and the precarity of labour. Drawing inspiration from the Non-Aligned Movement and communication rights movements, it foregrounds Southern concepts of solidarity, resistance, and Indigenous knowledge systems. DevHub Podcast - Disrupting the Development Sector from the Global South.In this episode, Priyanthi Fernando (IWRAW Asia Pacific) speaks about her ‘disruptive’ approach to development, continuously asserting Global South perspectives and challenging entrenched power dynamics. A great complement to ongoing debates about decolonising aid and shifting power within the sector. 

In this week’s episode, we interviewed Florence Ringe Executive Director of Prince of Peace Orphans and Widows Vision(POPOW), a grassroots organization working across Kaberamaido, Kalaki, and Amolatar Districts of Teso and Lango sub-regions in North Eastern Uganda.  Florence’s talks of the importance of engaging the community in understanding the unique needs of particular communities rather than imposing external solutions that might end up not being sustainable. Education being a critical area of focus, Florence mentions challenges faced by children in accessing quality education. Many children walk long distances to school, and the infrastructure often fails to support their educational needs, but POPOW Uganda is working to promote safe learning environments and provide essential resources to families.Florence also shares inspirational stories of transforming the lives of young men involved in criminal behavior through sports and community service. By providing opportunities for positive engagement, the young men have become protectors of their communities, demonstrating the power of change when given the right support.If you’re interested to find out more about Florence Ringe’s work, take a look here:X (Twitter)FacebookTiktokYouTubeWebsiteA suggested reading for the audience:“Every story of hope and desired change blooms through the power of giving. Your selfless acts of kindness and generosity create a huge impact in the lives of the marginalized individuals. This is who we are as POPOW. It is a powerful reminder that we all have the ability to make a difference in the rural, unprivileged communities. Choose to show someone kindness today!”

In this week’s episode, we interview Kenza Ben Azouz, gender expert trained in feminist research and anthropology from Tunisia, and the newest addition to the Dev Hub team. Kenza tells us about feminist culture of care and the importance of rest in order to be able to reflect and act differently.Kenza draws on Black feminism and Global South feminist scholars to contextualise the complexities of intersectional identities. We also discuss imposter syndrome and how it manifests in racialised bodies. Kenza also talks about her lived experience as a French Tunisian woman, and how race and identity interact in her self-perception and her activism.Kenza Ben Azouz is a gender expert trained in feminist research and anthropology from Tunisia. She has worked with various human rights and development organisations (both grassroots and international) across West and North Africa and South West Asia. Her work has mostly focused on gender-based violence, systemic racism, and structural development challenges. Kenza holds a BA in political science and philosophy from McGill University (Montreal, Canada) and a MA in social anthropology of development from SOAS University (London, UK). Kenza is also a Yoga teacher and contemporary dancer. If you’re interested to find out more about Kenza's work, take a look here: LinkedInRecent work:EuroMed Rights. 2024. Turning the tide – Key learnings and strategic path for navigating anti-gender backlash in the euro Mediterranean region. Human Rights Watch. 2022. “So What If He Hit You?” Addressing Domestic Violence in Tunisia.Recommended resources:Lorde, Audre. 1978. Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power.Lauter, Estella. 2006. “Audre Lorde's Refiguration of Eros,” Re-Visioning Creativity.Emergent Wisdom. Eros, Violence and the Body Without Organs (Podcast) Featuring Palestinian activist A'ida Shibli.Love and Philosophy. Paths of Power and Paradox with Minna Salami, author of sensuous knowledge.EISA Podcast. What is... Love and Care in International Relations? with feminist anthropologist Professor Roxani Kristalli Tuck, Eve, and K. Wayne Yang. 2012. Decolonisation is not a metaphor. Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education & Society Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 1-40.Peace Direct. 2023. The Nine Roles that Intermediaries can Play in International Cooperation.

In this week’s episode, we talk to Rachel Kiddell-Monroe, founder of the SeeChange initiative, which seeks to take a stand in the humanitarian sector and centre communities in a decolonised approach.Rachel tells us about taking a community-centred approach to humanitarian work which is built around connection, engagement, co-design, and reflection. They have developed practical, open-source frameworks to incorporate the needs of the communities they work with.Rachel emphasises the importance of not only personal reflection, but also taking a stand and speaking up in spaces of privilege, acknowledging that there is a risk.Rachel Kiddell-Monroe is an activist, lawyer, and humanitarian who has worked for many years in leading positions for Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).She also founded the student-led group Universities Allied for Essential Medicines and is a Professor of Practice at McGill University in Montreal, Canada where she leads a course on Decoloniality and Humanitarian Action. In 2018, Rachel founded SeeChange, a Canada-based social purpose organization that works to impact humanitarian organizations to shift to a more community-centered approach, contributing to a decolonization of the sector. SeeChange and MSF cooperated on a successful 'CommunityFirst' pilot project in which MSF teams co-created health strategies with affected communities in several countries. SeeChange also uses this community-centered approach in its work with Inuit communities in the Canadian Arctic region, where the organization supports TB and mental health initiatives that are co-created with the community. In recognition of her work in this field, Rachel was appointed an Ashoka Fellow in 2023.If you’re interested to find out more about SeeChange, take a look here:WebsiteLinkedInFacebookInstagramTwitter (X)SubstackRecommended resources:SeeChange’s CommunityFirst ToolsCommunityFirst FrameworkParticipatory Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (PMEAL) ToolkitVideo about CommunityFirst pilot project with MSFSeeChange’s Decoloniality Resources SeeChange’s Decoloniality CharterD-DEI Resource Garden

In this week’s episode, Tija speaks to us about oral traditions, reparative justice, the violence of colonisation, and how that generates intergenerational harms. We talk about the erasure of culture, the loss of language, and the role of storytelling, song, and intergenerational love and joy as part of the healing process. Tija emphasises the role of culture in addressing mental health and the intergenerational trauma of colonisation. We discuss the importance of storytelling to sustain oral history and keep the languages of colonised countries alive. Tija offers us a hopeful way forward for collective healing from the intergenerational harms of colonisation.Tija Andriamananjara is a trauma informed senior social worker from Madagascar joining us from St Paul, Minnesota (US). Her experience and background include education, child development, mental health and human services. She was a visiting educator in Madagascar at a local NGO helping children and women facing domestic violence. Her graduate studies focused on social justice and reconciliation. Her graduate practicum included working with a 3-aged group of Native American kids, youth and women. Tija published 2 children’s books with songs solely in Malagasy in late 2023 and lastly in October of this year to promote her mother tongue and familial connections through reading at home. If you’re interested to find out more about Tija’s work, take a look here:LinkedInSoaSoa LinkedInRecent work:"Mahaliana ny Mianatra" {In Awe of Learning}"Kintana Mamiratra" {StarShine}Podcast episode about traumaRecommended resources:Decolonizing Therapy - Jennifer Mullan PsyDMy Grandmother's hands - Resmaa MenakemHealing the Soul Wound - Eduardo DuranMitaraina ny tany - Andry Andraina, 1979Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence - Judith Herman, 1992 The Ancestor Syndrome - Anne Ancelin Schutzenberger, 1998The Myth of Normal - Gabor Maté, September 2022The Wild Edge of Sorrow - Francis Weller, September 2015Healing Collective Trauma - Thomas Hübl and Julie Jordan Avritt, November 2020Nonviolent Communication - Marshall Rosenberg , 2003

In this week’s episode, we speak to Silvester Kasozi from Light for the World Uganda about the systemic approach they have implemented to decolonise the way they work.Silvester speaks about the importance of involving all departments of the organisation in their approach to decolonisation, especially driving the change locally from their country offices. We discuss the challenges in putting a system in place that responds to the needs of the organisation as a whole. We talk about putting a strategy in place to approach decolonisation in multilayered ways and interrogate the issue from different perspectives. Silvester speaks of a vision for the development and humanitarian space which is founded on respect, equity, and the decentering of knowledge, where knowledge is valued regardless of its origin.Silvester Kasozi is a humanitarian and development practitioner, a sociologist by training, and currently the country director of Light for the World Uganda, an organisation that works to spark lasting change for disability rights and eye health in sub Saharan Africa. He's also the co chair for the organisation's Decolonisation Working Group and disability inclusion enthusiast. If you’re interested to find out more about Silvester's work, take a look here:Light for the World FacebookLight for the World Twitter / XLight for the World YouTubeLight for the World LinkedInRecommended resources:Organisational Decolonisation Action Plan | VIDEAACFID - Wielding and Yielding Power ToolkitMSF video on Anti-RacismAfrica is not a country

In this week’s episode, we talk to Dr Romina Istratii, who tells us about the DLDL project, which takes an interdisciplinary approach to looking at domestic violence and religious communities.We speak about co-created research which then feeds back into knowledge production and good practices in the West. This challenges Eurocentric norms around knowledge production by reversing the knowledge transfer as a way to shift power.Romina centres the importance of identity and positionality in situating decolonisation efforts, and points at humility and reflexivity as key principles of co-created and community-grounded research.Dr Romina Istratii is UKRI Future Leaders Fellow at the School of History, Religions and Philosophies at SOAS University of London. She is an interdisciplinary researcher, scholar and practitioner working across international development, gender studies, religion and theology, psychology and anthropology to address societal challenges with gender dimensions. She currently leads and manage a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship of £1.2 million in Ethiopia and the UK that responds to domestic violence in religious communities working through an interdisciplinary, decolonial and innovative partnerships model with government, NGOs and grassroots groups. For the past 13 years, she has worked in development-oriented research to promote epistemological reflexivity, ethical research practices and healthy partnerships and collaboration models. She have led numerous initiatives within and beyond the university, having initialised the Decolonising Research Initiative under the aegis of the SOAS Research Directorate and in 2020, and co-founded Decolonial Subversions in 2020. She is the author of the monograph Adapting Gender and Development to Local Religious Contexts: A Decolonial Approach to Domestic Violence in Ethiopia (Routledge, 2020).If you’re interested to find out more about Romina's work, take a look here:Dr Romina Istratii | LinkedInDr Romina Istratii | SOASRecent work:Istratii, R. and Laamann, L., eds (2024) Orthodox Churches and War Politics in Ethiopia and Ukraine: Historical, Ecclesial and Theological Reflections. Studies in World Christianity. Vol. 30, no.2.Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.Relevant resources:Our multilingual website: Home - Project dldl/ድልድልOur Outputs, listed under Research, Engagement & Intergration, and Knowledge Exchange: Outputs - Project dldl/ድልድልAll our webinars and conferences on Vimeo: Project dldl/ድልድል (vimeo.com)Our theologically-grounded training manual used in workshops with Ethiopian Orthodox clergy, a programme co-created and co-delivered with EOTC DICAC: Booklet_final_English—PDF.pdf (projectdldl.org)A recent policy brief on working with religious leaders and clerics internationally to respond to DVA/GBV: Polcy Brief Template.indd (projectdldl.org)Conference proceedings from our 2022 conference in Ethiopia: Conference-Proceedings_FINAL.pdf (projectdldl.org)Trailers to our film Tidar on YouTube (which we just launched yesterday):

In this week’s episode, we talk to Shilpa Alva about Surge for Water’s model of partnership with community led organisations to address the global water crisis. Shilpa speaks about the importance of building trust and elevating the voice of community led organisations.Shilpa tells us about centering the social context and cultural norms of the communities they partner with to establish long term relationships. We also talk about maintaining an open dialogue with local partners and creating a flexible space for partnerships to change driven by the local partners’ vision.We speak about partnership models that make space for a responsible exit strategy that generates long-term revenue for local organisations.Shilpa is the founder and Executive Director of Surge for Water, a nonprofit organization dedicated to addressing the cycle of poverty through access to safe water and sanitation solutions. Since its founding 15 years ago, Surge has impacted hundreds of thousands of lives across 12 countries. Shilpa’s journey didn’t start in the International Development World. After graduating from Johns Hopkins University with a Chemical Engineering degree, she joined the corporate world and earned her MBA from the University of Minnesota. After a successful corporate career, she made the choice to transition to running Surge full time.If you’re interested to find out more about Shilpa’s work, take a look here:Surge for Water websiteSurge for Water LinkedInSurge for Water InstagramSurge for Water TwitterShilpa Alva LinkedIn 

In this week’s episode, we talk to Leslie Mudimu, a participant from Cohort 2 of our Skill Share Programme on Decolonising Development. We discuss what Afrocentric development could look like, and how decolonisation and localisation is perceived and understood in the African academic context.Leslie speaks about her experience as a Zimbabwean academic studying in South Africa, and the mobilisation that occurred around the Rhodes Must Fall movement. We speak about how the decolonising call for transformation has been taken up in the African continent, and how the localisation agenda can be implemented.Driven by a passion to understand and find solutions to Africa's developmental issues, Leslie is a Development and Systems Change Consultant. She has a multi-disciplinary background in the Humanities, particularly the Social Sciences, which enables her understanding of complex social problems. Her academic research was on the inclusion of women in transitional processes and governance in Zimbabwe. Her expertise is aligned with decolonisation and transformation efforts and the representation and inclusion of women. Beyond working in the international development space, Leslie is a Founder of a mentorship network for Humanities students in Zimbabwe and South Africa.If you’re interested to find out more about Leslie’s work, take a look here:LinkedInEmail: [email protected] work:Decolonising Development conversation with Dr PZJ BimhaMentorship Network WebsiteRelevant resources:Australian Council for International Development (2023) Yielding and Wielding Power Toolkit.